


Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon

by Theplanetprince



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Canon Compliant - Sonic Adventure 2, Canon Compliant - Sonic Forces, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, I'm also just making shit up as I go don't mind me, M/M, Mentions of Gadget, Mentions of Infinite, Post-Sonic Forces, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sonadow - Freeform, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Forces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:19:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28651896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theplanetprince/pseuds/Theplanetprince
Summary: Having gotten together shortly after the events of the war against Eggman, Shadow comes by to check on Sonic who's been acting oddly distant. In the process, Shadow is forced to bond with Sonic's roommates. Though everything in their relationship comes into question when they find an orphaned chao egg.
Relationships: Knuckles the Echidna & Miles "Tails" Prower & Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower & Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. For you I will try

There was a knock at the door late in the morning.

Tails took it upon himself as there was no one else in the duplex awake. He could pry himself away from the Tornado's upgrade of an upgrade for a second. Tails hovered through the kitchen, adjusting his welding mask mid-flight. He interrupted the stranger mid-knock—

It was Shadow.

Tails began closing the door while maintaining eye contact. The hedgehog proceeded to wedge his foot into the door.

Tails monotonically, but with a polite smile said," He isn't awake yet."

Shadow looked down at the kit," Can I go wake him up?"

"Sonic said you had a bribe for me." Tails almost demanded while maintaining the guise of childish innocence.

Wondering if the alternate Tails in the opposing reality was a mob boss, Shadow sighed and gestured to the package on his motorcycle. Trotting behind him, Tails thought of convincing Shadow to take him for a ride— or to let him test drive it himself! OR— actually, realistically speaking, Tails could finally get someone to mow the front yard as Knuckles had been putting off for nearly weeks on end at this point.

The child in Tails was still bursting at the seams to get a present despite the context under which he received it. He was still giggling to himself with anticipation that he nearly crashed into Shadow's back spines.

Retrieving a large box wrapped in marigold gift wrap and tied off with an orange shimmery bow, Shadow picked up and looked down at it in his hands, "Tails, I want you to promise me you'll take good care of this."

"Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh, man!"

Shadow insisted again rather seriously, "Tails… please."

Raising one hand and using the other to cross his heart, "Of course, Shadow, I promise— I take good care of my things; ask anyone!"

"Okay," Shadow breathed, "I'm really trusting you here." He handed over the box to Tails, who was practically vibrating with ideas of what the gift could be. Tearing into the paper, Tails began to open it in the overgrown front yard with his welding mask occasionally flopping down and hitting him in the snout. Shadow only wished to hear what the neighbors had to say— perhaps this sight was as amusing to any on-lookers as it was to him. He let out a dry nose laugh and held the mask up for the kit.

Once all the paper was removed, Tails stared at the object in befuddlement. It was a toolkit. It was a rusted pale blue toolbox that had three rows of space. The box possessed several odd bumps and dents.

Tails must've made a strange face as Shadow was prompted to say, "It was Maria's."

"The girl on the ARK?"

"... yeah, see she was like you— crazy smart," Shadow smirked, grabbing his bag from his bike, "I figured she didn't want these just to sit around collecting dust so as a peace offering… I want you to take care of them."

Unsure of really what to say, Tails stared at the box with a heavy but airy feeling trapped in his esophagus. This was a lot of emotional baggage to dump on a ten-year-old. It was certainly a big gesture that much Tails could grasp, though it was cumbersome to hold that much of someone else's grief. Picking the toolbox from the ground, he held the dense case to his hip and began to limp inside with it.

Shadow felt his ears pull back when he heard how the metal of the box scrape on the concrete pathway. It was like he could hear nothing else.

"So what science did Maria want to pursue?"

Finding his voice, Shadow blinked, "Something tells me robotics, but I just don't think she wanted to be like her grandfather… but bioengineering or chemistry is also likely candidate."

"She'd have all these papers. She was homeschooled, mostly self-taught with whatever books the scientists were leaving around. The papers had all these really complicated shapes on them… I think it was advanced calculus and geometry."

"Did she have any hobbies? Did she build stuff?"

Shadow thought on it; the memory wasn't chaining him down as much anymore. Tails kicked open the front door to the house. Better for it, the overcast made it appear as if it was going to rain soon.

"Before the ARK maybe… she didn't have a lot besides the books. We always drew together whenever I was allowed a break from the lab."

"You were a scientist too?"

"Science experiment," Shadow corrected, almost proud that he was able to remember so much on his own.

Tails felt the corners of his mouth pinned in a flat tight-lipped smile— how the heck was he supposed to respond to that?

"Shadow, if you don't mind me asking," Tails struggled to find the most sensitive way to phrase the question," What exactly are you?"

The hedgehog opened his mouth only to close it again. That was a good question; Shadow offered a vague shrug as a response. The fox began to wonder if he was perhaps the most mundane person in the friend group. Sliding the toolkit on the counter, something caught the Kit's eye. A stack of golden rings; Knuckles finally got around to paying his share of the rent this month.

Tails paused for a second. That meant Knuckles somehow traded goods and/or… services to someone in exchange for rings. That was more concerning than Shadow showing up like the pale horse of death ready to claim another soul for the fiery pit. No offense to one of his only best friends, but what could an idiot like Knuckles possibly hold down in the way of a job?! He barely remembers that he's supposed to be guarding the Master Emerald half the time!

"You okay over there, chief?" Shadow asked as he took a seat at the kitchen table, "You've just been staring at that pile of rings like it owes you more rings."

"About thirty, to be precise!" Tails poked at the stack, watching it topple over.

Shadow chuckled," Are you always so serious?"

"When are you not! I thought that was your thing!" Tails reprimanded, "Knuckles was supposed to pay rent for about two weeks now, and I'm beginning to think he's a Gigolo."

Wheezing like a wounded donkey, Shadow began to laugh himself under the table."— do you— do you ev-even know wha-what that word means?" Shadow imagined Knuckles standing on some street dingy corner wearing his dumb cowboy hat getting pressed on by some lonely housewife, that poor magic mike bastard.

"Sonic lets me watch HBO!" Tails stick his tongue out.

"Sonic lets you do what?" Sonic stumbled out of his room from down the hall, rubbing his eyes along the way.

Revving up his tails, Tails picked up his toolkit, rounding a corner into his garage swiftly, calling out, "Thanks for the tools, Shadow!"

"Ah, what a cute kid," Shadow felt his lungs get back under his control enough to speak.

Sonic yawned, "What's so funny?"

"Well, Tails thinks Knuckles is a hooker."

"...I think I'm gonna need you to back up about 3 steps so I can get the context," Sonic picked at his ear, taking the seat next to Shadow, "So what inspired you to come here at… jeez what time is it?"

"Time for you to set an alarm; it's 9 am."

Sonic punched his partner in the shoulder, "Ah c'mon, you know justice never sleeps!"

"Justice never sleeps because it is highly traumatized by the moral ambiguity of its actions," Shadow snorted," I brought over some old records I wanted to share with you."

"...Shads, I hate to burst your 1950s-malt-shop-and-25-cents-for-a gallon-of-gas coated bubble, but no one has a record player anymore."

Shadow sighed, unloading his bag that had his record player in it," you sure are lucky you're pretty."

"That's why I leave the bills to the ten-year-old," Sonic nodded and placed his head on the table tiredly.

"So, how do you stave off the boredom when you're not saving the world?" Shadow queried, thinking that Sonic would more than likely keel over at the lack of stimulation. Boredom kills most bunnies and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic groggily slurred his words, "Would you believe me if I said I was the fastest pizza delivery guy in the station square area?"

"It'd be more believable if you were the fastest pizza delivery boy on the whole continent."

* * *

_I want to hold your hand; Please let me hold your hand._

_I want to hold your hand—_

_Please let me hold your hand…_

_You look so good to me, oo-ooee_

_I saw you walking all alone_

_that's why I want to walk you home_

Sonic had done it again. Somehow Shadow had been convinced into something he didn't believe in, like sleeping in on a Thursday. Perhaps there were better ways to spend a Thursday, though he was having trouble coming up with one. Nothing quite topped dozing in and out, listening to some old soul on an old Crosley. Especially with good company that was holding onto him as if he was gonna float away. When he wasn't sleeping, he was looking up at the ceiling, wondering how exactly he became so lucky.

There was nothing that needed his attention outside of Sonic's room, which seemed fitting since it was his first time in Sonic's room. Plenty of picture frames on the dresser, scattered miscellaneous papers, a large window covered with a blanket instead of a curtain that let a decent amount of soft grey light reflected off the light cherrywood floor. Shadow needed to take in every detail because he never knew if this was going to suddenly change too. He wanted to remember how the mattress felt resting on the ground instead of a frame and how the pillows were stacked up around them like Fort Knox.

On the outside of the duplex, the overcast had turned into rain. A hard downpour like that caused people inside the warm comfort of their homes to shiver. Being so unaccustomed to the sensation of touch, Shadow spent the better part of his life being cold, almost ice to the skin. It was something he was always consciously aware of how he radiated coldness. Though Sonic never once commented on it.

He felt his eyes gradually fluttering back closed for another forty winks— until there was a loud crash in the front entryway.

"KNOCK KNOCK ITS KNUCKLES!"

Sonic let out a groan into Shadow's side, "I live in the nuthouse." Sonic continued his half rant, "Doesn't even sleep inside he sleeps in the backyard porch swing but still eats my food—"

"We should at least say hi," Shadow smirked.

"You just want to tell him that Tails thinks he's a prostitute."

"Oh, more than anything." Shadow swung his legs over the mattress, helping Sonic up in the process.

Sonic moved the needle from Shadow's Crosley from the Fats Domino record. Something that made good sleepy material more so than any podcast or deep sleep hypnosis videos that Knuckles swore by that activates his chakras or his fifth eye or whatever.

The two emerged from the hall into the kitchen to see Knuckles stuffing his face with lunch meat from the fridge. It was quite a majestic sight.

"Hey, Knuckles." Sonic chuckled while telling Shadow to stay quiet. This is another way to cut the time between world-saving- pranking those close to you in hopes to remind them to stay vigilant and also embarrass them.

Knuckles unaware and still eating turkey straight from the packaging "Yo."

Shadow raised his eyebrows; this was sure to be amusing.

"So I noticed you paid your share of the rent this month, and I commend you… but just remember you can talk to me about anything," Sonic said in mock-concern.

"What's s'at s'posed to mean?" The echidna managed to get through with his full mouth.

"Well, being a hooker, that's gotta be a really demanding job."

Knuckles bumped his head on the ceiling of the fridge, attempting to stand and turn in shock. He coughed," Ex-Excuse me?"

Sonic snickered under his breath," At least that's what Tails told me."

Yelling beyond the ceiling into the sky, perhaps reaching and spooking the angels guarding the pearly gates of heaven- Knuckles stomped the ground," TAILS!"

Knuckles finally turned to Sonic for information, only to see both Shadow and Sonic trying- but failing to keep their composure. Seeing Shadow, the echidna felt his stomach drop in fear. Shrieking as if he'd seen a poltergeist. Realizing any dynamic that Shadow and Knuckles had would now forever be ruined with running inside jokes.

"I didn't peg you, a proud echidna warrior, as a screamer," Shadow quipped innocently, though his snide and somewhat spiteful smirk defeated the illusion.

Shadow and Rouge shared in common the mutual enjoyment of Knuckles' suffering, the echidna noted bitterly. Covertly he tried kicking the empty lunch meat baggie under the fridge. He clasped his hands together, realizing that this evening could not pass fast enough,"...I- uh, I'll get dinner started."

"Would you like help with that, stud?" Shadow ribbed but didn't want to think he was only there to be a nuisance. He had to remember to play nice, at least a little bit. Sonic shook his shoulder playfully, still fighting his case of the giggles. Perhaps another reason why the love between them flourished was that their humor was on the same wavelength. Shadow's deadpanned voice often worked against him, but it was absolutely perfect how it killed him in terms of comedy.

Tails finally fluttered into the source of all the commotion, "Knuckles finally, you're home! I'm so hungry!"

"What've you been saying about me, you little- helicopter Elf?!"

Tails avoided Knuckles wild swatting effortlessly. Tails furrowed his brow, "I simply suggested that you managed to pay your rent this month by realizing your hidden talent of seducing bored housewives with your charming idiocy as a Gigolo."

Knuckles blinked. Processing what the annoying ceiling fan just said, there was a beat of silence where the electricity sparking off of a group of people remembering what having friends was like. A little exasperation, a little bit of teasing, though at the end of the day... something ultimately positive.

Finally, after a lot of internal monologue and definition searching, the echidna exclaimed," WHAT DOES THE INSANE CLOWN POSSE HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT?!"


	2. You'll Never Be Whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brief mentions of torture, including electrocution and isolation.

"Wow, Shadow, you make great pyr-pyro—"

"Piroshkis, Sonic," Tails concluded for him.

Sonic digging into his food wolfishly, "Yeah, whatever Tails just said."

"It wasn't all my doing; Knuckles should take a bow here too— I couldn't have kneaded all that dough myself." Shadow attempted to remove the attention from himself to gain back Knuckles' tolerance of him.

The echidna begrudgingly nodded his head, "This beats the spaghetti I had planned," Knuckles then added, "Though if you think these little reverse sandwiches can hold a candle to my tamales, I will actually punch you through the house."

Shadow cleared the counters and wiped up the flour they used for the dough before taking the spot across from Sonic. Not saying much, Shadow instead took in the moment that he was sitting amongst people who actually functioned closely to what a family resembled. Not that Shadow viewed Rogue and Omega as less than his family, they often didn't come around as Shadow has liked.

Wow, he really was a clingy grandpa on the verge of being put in a home. He snickered at the thought, then took a bite from his piroshki.

Strangely he felt almost flooded with emotion as the taste of the mashed potato filling tucked into a glazed bread roll reminded him of the scientists. The emotion wasn't good or bad— it just washed over him completely as a calm and nostalgic moment in the darkness of space. It had twinges of pain but was buried with the feeling of community he had been missing for a while.

Sonic looked to his partner as he slowed down his carb intake to shower more praise upon his boyfriend— only to notice the way his eyes looked somewhat glazed. Though the tiny smile that was etched on his face suggested the opposite of what his eyes were saying.

Sonic cleared his throat, "Hey Knuckles, would you mind trading seats with me? I think Junior here needs some help cutting his food."

Which was a half-lie, as Tails had shed most of his baby canines but still had trouble reaching the table despite sitting on a phonebook.

"Wha?" Knuckles paused mid-bite, as he was in the boat of trying to find a nonexistent thing to critique about Shadow's recipe.

Kicking Knuckles under the table, Sonic gestured to Shadow with his eyes and shoulders. Trying to remain somewhat subtle for Shadow's dignity.

The echidna hissed, "Ow! What the he—" Knucklehead finally picked up on the cue once he got a clear read of the atmosphere, "Oh… yeah sure dude."

Tails attempted to protest but couldn't be seen as the table was still too tall.

Sonic quickly switched seats, grateful to now be closer to his partner. He picked up the second sandwich from his plate as if he was surveying where to take the best bite from.

To distract him, Sonic remarked, "You made these for our anime night last week, right? You gotta teach me how to make these Shads!"

Shadow looked to his partner first with surprise as he had been pulled out of the memory, then perhaps a double surprise as Sonic actually remembered that. He felt his face flush, "I— I would very much enjoy that."

Knuckles watched them both. And they call him clueless! They were so in love with each other it was almost sickening. He gave a humorous sigh from his nose as he began to cut Tails' piroshki into fourths.

Once Tails finally got a small enough portion to fit into his baby hands, he queried, "Where did you learn how to make these?"

"I wasn't going to be made by a man named 'Robotnik' and not know how to make passable Russian cuisine."

There was a hearty laugh shared across the table over Shadow's somewhat dry and humorless delivery of the anecdote. Shadow wondered if he was making a good impression, though Sonic's friends really seemed to laugh at anything— the thought of them laughing at him was in the equation. Though considering that they are such foolhardy paragons, it wouldn't even cross their minds.

Sharing a meal between people was nice. It was that simple. It wasn't much to ask of a group of people to share themselves with each other.

Shadow didn't say much as he just observed. Quite honestly, nothing was going through his head; he just watched.

Eating like an uncaged carnival bear, Sonic had grabbed several piroshkis, determined to finish them all. Everyone was aware of how the hedgehog ate like a monster, but it still was impressive to see. Olympic sprinters often carried around small pouches of all sorts of finger foods to keep themselves energized— Sonic instead chose to forgo that method and eat as if he had never been fed before at mealtime. He was a vacuum— or as Shadow put it, a garbage disposal because Sonic probably would make a funny noise if he accidentally ate his own fork.

Tails ate slowly, counting bites in his head for optimal digestion. If he was going to finish the tornado upgrade, he needed to be methodical about how he ate and when he ate, as any excessive breaks would cause delays!

Then lastly, there was Knuckles, who weirdly enough ate a sandwich with a fork and knife. Shadow couldn't fathom why Knuckles was only delicate in this aspect of his life.

Freaks and weirdos, all of them.

Once Shadow appeared to be finished, Sonic was positively bursting with restlessness. In the blink of an eye, Sonic placed both their plates in the sink and turned on the faucet.

Linking arms with the other hedgehog, he declared, "We are going on a walk," facetiously he added," as that is what couples do!"

Shadow looked off to the wall blushing sheepishly.

Tails groaned, "Gross!" Then proceeded to get up from the table.

"While we're gone, I hope you guys at least put a dent in those dishes." Sonic reminded, trying for once in his life to be stern.

Tails threw up his arms in protest, "I've been doing them for the past week! Why did I even make a chore wheel if everyone is going to ignore it?!"

Knuckles, trying to posture himself to be more responsible in front of the company than his roommates lead on, placed a hand on Tails' shoulders, "I'll help you out."

"Thanks, Red." Sonic said with a slight bow of gratitude before turning Shadow and him toward the door, "Don't wait up, fellas!"

—

The walk was still and quiet. The rain had subsided long enough for the sun to flitter through the clouds to light up the sky with a myriad of oranges.

Sonic lived in a pretty cozy culdesac; the neighborhood was pretty nice. It was a slower pace than Shadow would've thought, but in a way, it suited Sonic. Something about the lush greenery felt more lively than, say, the concrete jungle of paperwork and skyscrapers Shadow became accustomed to.

They passed by Vanilla and Cream's residence. Sonic felt the need to point this out and give a small summary of hearsay and his general impressions of what types of people he lived around. Cream was a sweetheart; she often brought out the child in Tails that Sonic often missed from his little brother.

A life of going fast meant nothing if you couldn't stop and smell the roses.

Speaking of roses. Amy came around. She was looking happier. Sonic, of course, couldn't ignore the urge to hide.

"Should I be worried about my safety?" Shadow teased when he found Sonic shrinking behind him.

Elbowing Shadow's rib, "Hey, she'd go easy on you!" Sonic suggested. Though once he lingered on Amy's house and he saw her take in her groceries. There was just something with the way she carried herself now that made her seem more mature. More mature and a lifetime wearier. It was easy to forget that the entire world was war locked against Eggman for almost six months. Half a year.

Half a year where he didn't hear a familiar voice or see a friendly face. Seeing as when he wasn't being poked at like a lab rat or electrocuted, he was put into solitary. He had a lot of time to reflect. Sonic found himself thinking about the promises he made to his friends.

When he found Tails, the hedgehog promised him that he would never leave his side— there was nothing Tails feared more than being alone despite his introverted attitude. Tails was abandoned when he was small… well smaller, and couldn't fathom going through it again.

For Knuckles, it was a promise of loyalty. Knuckles had too many people fall through on him; the gullible echidna often beat himself up for it. Sonic promised that he would never hurt Knuckles. So far, he kept that promise— though there were some days, that's for sure. But with Sonic gone, who was there to keep him out of trouble?

Strangely enough, his promise to Amy was at the front of his mind the most. As kids, Amy somehow got it in her head that another person would never love her, thank the schoolyard maturity of fourth-graders.

Rather stupidly, Sonic offered up a pinky saying that she wouldn't ever be alone because they were to be married, at the proper age, of course. They were both young and still barely figure out how to coordinate themselves. Sonic was impressed and often regretted how she never forgot.

Now that they had grown up somewhat, he felt that he had failed for some other reason. He saw Blaze appear from Amy's house, helping her load in her heavier items. They were just talking about the daily inconsequential things. Blaze kissed Amy on the cheek, and they both headed inside.

"I'm glad she found someone to fulfill that promise." Sonic looked on sullenly. His heart twinged slightly when he realized that some people really do move on. Some people really do change. People don't stay on pause for you.

During their first few hangouts, Sonic did mention his time in Zavok's prison— and these promises. It wasn't something that Sonic talked much about, but Shadow still hung on every word. So for Sonic to suddenly mention them... Shadow was always curious to know if Sonic thought about him at all during those times but realized how selfish that was. Sonic stopped hiding behind Shadow as they both continued their walk. In the afterglow of the storm.

Feeling a moment of insecurity, Sonic felt the need to ask,"… are you mad at me?"

"What?" Shadow snapped out his own little world long enough to register what his partner said, "Of course not."

"You've just been really— not saying a whole lot."

There was a stiff chuckle.

Shadow's hand found Sonic's and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "I'm just lost in thought, yknow?"

Sonic nodded, feeling his heart skip maybe one too many beats. The blue hedgehog smiled, mollified somewhat, "Where do you go when you're lost, huh?"

"Strangely enough, nowhere bad— I'm sorry if it's a bit much, but I honestly feel like… being together with you has made me think more about the future and less about the past." Shadow, unsure what to do with his other hand, gestured vaguely to the wet path in front of them.

"... yeah, I get that, Shads. I'm really glad that we get along better than we used to."

"Well, anything is better than—"

"Calling each other names?"

"Yes," Shadow snickered, "I think anything is better than that."

"I'm just shocked that you remembered that," Sonic admitted.

Shadow combed his fingers through his white chest fur, "Rogue apparently bugged my fluff with a body cam."

"Oh, so that's what you call it?" The blue hedgehog let out while keeping back a laugh.

Shadow shot a knowing glance to his boyfriend, causing Sonic to stop in his tracks to crack with laughter.

Waiting for Sonic to compose himself, Shadow murmured, "That really is my favorite sound."

Sonic, now bright pink, the flirting being something he wasn't particularly used to, shoved his partner's shoulder, "Oh my god, shut up."

"Make me," Shadow challenged.

A challenge issued Their first fight; it only makes sense if their first kiss came about in the same way. Sonic tightened his grip on Shadow's shoulder. Looking at him with dead seriousness despite his body shaking like earthquakes ripping through his nerves.

Shadow blinked, not really sure if this was indeed the moment or not. He found his fists balling to his sides. What is he supposed to do? He can't let Sonic take the lead, then that proves that Shadow has no idea what he's doing!

They both went for it— faces darting in suddenly.

There was a dull but present smack. The pair's foreheads had collided.

Sonic was the first to pull back, "OW! JEEZ! WHY!?"

While on the other hand, due to Shadow's career as a detective, his pain tolerance was spiked up exponentially compared to his peers. He continued to blink now, with bright spots of embarrassment dotting his cheeks. Was this still the moment?!

Shadow reached out to help Sonic up, and so he could get a better look at the wound— If there was one.

It was then the pair heard a soft sound coming from the bus stop from the parallel sidewalk. They both froze in place, their ears snapping to attention.


	3. To Smash the Wall of Apathy

In the kitchen, both the echidna and fox worked rather diligently together. Neither one really saying much. They already knew how each other's day was from dinner— the well of conversation was rapidly drying.

"So are you going to leave me as the odd man out and finally get a girlfriend?" Tails pouted.

Knuckles rolled his eyes. The 'finally' was a little unnecessary. There wasn't even anyone he had the slightest interest in. Well, that was a lie. There was someone, but he couldn't foresee it working out. She was a jewel thief, and he was a jewel guard— some real Romeo and Juliet stuff. He was in no position to kill himself for love, as he already had too many obligations, unfortunately. Oh, what he would give to be an idiot in love. Being a regular idiot was already too much.

The echidna instead sighed, "And miss this quality dishwashin' time with my dishwashin' buddy?"

"Good." Tails mumbled, "Because if I get another freeloader like you, I'll go ape!"

"Okay, okay, you got it, little man."

Bitterly scrubbing at plates, Tails wondered how much money they would have to pull to get a dishwasher. It dawned on the twin-tailed kit; he laughed somewhat maniacally— HE COULD JUST MAKE THE DISHWASHER. GENIUS, TAILS, GENIUS.

Knuckles pumped more soap into the sink basin, proceeding to ignore whatever Tails was laughing evilly about now.

"WASSUP GUYS, WE FOUND AN EGG."

Nearly causing both of them to drop the dishes they were holding. Knuckles and Tails turned to the front entrance. Sonic had kicked open the door.

"Why do we all enter the house like that?" Knuckles found himself asking aloud.

Tails shrugged," I suspect that this house is on a dimensional faultline where it is predetermined that everyone bound to the laws of fate to make a dramatic entrance."

Finding their way to the kitchen, Sonic repeated, holding the egg above his head, "guys, we found an egg!"

Knuckles ran the rag over the dish in his hands before setting it on the drying rack, "We heard."

"Did you hear the 'wassup'?"

"Yeah."

"Oh," Sonic said, leaning the egg into the crook of his elbow.

Shadow scratching the back of his head as he lagged behind Sonic, "We found it abandoned on our walk. You wouldn't happen to know if anyone around here is missing an egg?"

Tails looked to Knuckles, because Tails wouldn't know offhand given that he was an introvert and a man of science.

Knuckles looked to Tails, because Knuckles wouldn't know offhand given that he was flightier than a space cadet.

The pair shrugged.

Shadow sighed, "Well, I suppose we could go door to door to see if anyone is missing a…"

Trailing off, he noticed how Sonic was looking at the egg. It was as if Christmas came twice in a single day. He was holding the egg in the crook of his arm as if introducing a new best friend.

He shook his head. Despite the cute sight, it was unethical to keep something that didn't belong to them, "Knuckles, would you mind watching the egg?"

"Huh, why can't I watch it?" Sonic asked, knitting his brow, wondering if Shadow was questioning his abilities.

Shadow gestured to Knuckles," Well... Echidnas lay eggs, so I thought he would have more of an idea on what to do."

Tails scoffed, "You think Knuckles has ideas?"

The echidna clenched his fist, which was filled with the fratricide rage to pick Tails up by the shoes and give the twerp a shakedown, "As much as I disagree with that statement," Knuckles glared to the kit, "Tails."

He then continued his previous thought, "He's right. I don't really know a lot about eggs. I never had any brothers or sisters or nothin'."

While nodding his head, the fox walked up to Sonic and placed his hand on the egg, noting the coloring on the shell, "Besides Shadow, this is a Chao egg."

"A Chao?" Shadow placed a hand on his chin. He supposed that narrowed down the people on the block that could be missing an egg, more than likely previous Chao owners or Chao breeders.

"Yeah, you know those sweet little cherub creatures descended from Chaos?"

Shadow waved his hand, dismissively, "Yes, yes, I know what they are- I happen to be in the fantasy karate Chao league at work."

"I didn't think you were interested in sports," Knuckles pondered aloud.

"Why did you think that?"

All eyes fell upon the echidna that had a shoulder leaned up against the side of the fridge, his back crumpling Tails' chore wheel. Knuckles looked the short hedgehog up and down. His face turned slightly pink while admitting," Because… you're y'know… goth…"

Sonic trying to wrangle the conversation back to the topic at hand," This being a Chao egg that sort of clears up all the strange noises it was makin'." He poked at the egg, wondering what exactly it was fussing at earlier.

"What kind of noises were they?" the fox smacked his older brother's hand away to keep him from causing unnecessary discomfort to the baby.

Shadow piped in, "They sort of sounded like… a warbling? It was emitting this orange glow."

Tails hastily, without warning, scooped the egg out of Sonic's hands. Revved up, lifting off to his lab.

"Hey! Be careful!"

Shadow stayed back and began reflecting once again. Who would just abandon a defenseless egg? Clearly, it didn't get there on its own. There couldn't be anyone in this area that depraved- unless…

Unless this was a trick…? Some sort of bomb device in the shape of an egg thought up by none other than the good doctor. He balled his fist; that certainly was a distinct possibility. Sonic… Sonic's judgment couldn't be wrong; however, Sonic trusted this strange occurrence to be just that- a strange and innocent occurrence. Shadow trusted Sonic. Therefore this worry should be laid to rest in the back of his mind.

The overwhelming suspicion still sat in his tensed jaw. Gritting his teeth, Shadow chastised himself. He trusted Sonic's judgment; he had to.

Knuckles sipped loudly on cherry limeade through a striped straw, watching Shadow tie himself up with his own thinking. The echidna wondered if Shadow noticed that he was pacing all along the kitchen before resigning to sit on the kitchen counter cross-legged, without saying a single word. Honestly, he thought the hedgehog had left already to go check on his partner, but he still sat there with a resting angry face that made him look constipated.

"So…" Knuckles took another sip, "You gonna go look at your kid or what?"

"Kid?"

Knuckles sighed, "Yeah, your kid, the Chao. If no one claims it, technically it's orphaned, and if it's orphaned and you and Sonic found it- then it would be your kid… at least I think so, right?"

The thought honestly didn't cross the hedgehog's mind until that moment as it exited Knuckles' mouth and the words sort of floated around the room. Shadow would have a kid? For some reason, the idea of impending fatherhood didn't bring him the comfort he thought it should have. A kid… a child… a creature that scrutinized every move, and if he were to mess up, it would have lasting consequences of possibly being just like him. He suddenly felt very nauseous.

"Say, would you happen to have more of that limeade?"

Knuckles retrieved the pitcher, "What kind of glass do you want?"

Sonic glanced over at the discarded Chao handbook that Tails' had bookmarked on the floor, "Are you sure the lamp isn't overkill?"

"Oh, ye of little faith." Tails smirked, throwing the switch to his extremely large and recently modified fluorescent lights overhead of the three of them.

The lights hummed to life with the same orange glow that the egg had apparently cried out for.

"You really don't mind doing this, kiddo?" Sonic cocked his eyebrow to the fox, who seemed vehemently jealous that Shadow would be occupying any sort of fraction of time that Sonic could spend with Tails instead.

Tails blew a raspberry, "Oh yeah… This just gives me a new way to keep food good in here."

"Remember what I said about eating in your lab?" Sonic held up a disciplinary finger.

"Not to leave a mess for the roaches?"

"The other thing, Tails."

"... Drink fluids other than mountain dew."

"The other other thing."

"Oh right," Tails finally got it with a snap of his fingers, but deflated disappointedly, "Eat at least one meal with family as it promotes good mental health."

"There we go," Sonic said with finality. He sat on the floor cross-legged, tail shifting gradually from side to side. He had a large smile affixed on his face. Sonic looked the most awake at this moment, then at any other point of the day- his eyes were clear and focused.

The fox realized how long it had been since he saw the hedgehog like that.

"Hm?"

Tails then noticed he was staring at his older brother," Oh, it's nothing; you just hadn't said anything for a bit."

"I'm just really excited to see what it looks like," His hand was propping up his face, but he mumbled somewhat coherently," it's been a really long time since we've been to the Chao parks. Now I might get to have one of my very own!"

"That is if someone claims it." Tails reminded him, making sure Sonic didn't get his hopes up so high that they didn't have a chance to survive the landing.

"Mhmm." Sonic dismissed, still staring at the egg, waiting on something really grand.

It was quite sometime later when Tails had left the lab as it was a bit too warm for him- even later when Knuckles put Tails to bed- even later after that later when Shadow hadn't seen Sonic for hours expecting his boyfriend to naturally succumb to his impatience and boredom and join him in the living room for some tv. The clock's seconds hand made its fifty-ninth lap around Three-thirty-nine am. Shadow realized he wasn't getting that goodnight. He wasn't getting that night filled with board games, movies, and story-sharing that he wanted. He pressed the tv's remote, causing it to blink out. Dragging his aching back up from the plush navy blue loveseat, he trudged his way into Tails' lab, the lights still on and pouring out from under the heavy doors.

Rubbing his stinging tired eyes- he adjusted to the brightness to see Sonic sitting on the ground in front of the egg, which was resting on a pillow. The room felt comforting and safe with the dense heat hanging around them. Shadow took a step forward into the garage, "Hey… You coming to bed?"

Sonic said nothing, still hunched over in a comfortable pose to watch the egg.

"Sonic?" Shadow called out in a whisper, "Are you coming to bed?"

Unresponsive.

Shadow blinked, drawing a large sigh from the bottomest part of his chest. Closing the door gently, he stumbled down the hallway toward Sonic's room.

Chest falling, Sonic's hand propping up his chin finally fell after hours of doing its best. The hedgehog's head slumped down his neck, folding towards the center of his body—the restricted airflow causing a nasal snore to vibrate his entire head.


	4. To Concrete Stepping Smilers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of sickness, death, torture through scientific experimentation in this chapter.

_Don't you understand what I'm trying to say?_

_And can't you feel the fears I'm feeling today?_

_If the button is pushed, there's no running away,_

_There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave,_

_Take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,_

_And you tell me over and over and over again— over again— over again— over again— over again— over again— over again— over again— over again— over again— over again— over again— over again—_

The next morning Shadow awoke clinging to a pillow— it was strange for him to wake up in anyplace from his apartment. He couldn't fathom how conscious he was last night. A groan escaped his curled up body— scrunching his eyes before blinking away the grit.

He opened them to see the empty other side of the mattress— Shadow realized that he was on Sonic's side of the bed. His Crosley was seen over the mattress lip, toiling away.

Hastily tossing the pillow aside, the hedgehog sat up immediately. The same byte of sound had been repeating on a continuous loop.

Removing the needle from the record, the sound exited the room promptly. Using the butt of his palm, he wiped at his eyes. Glaring at the Barry McGuire single he was holding with a flaccid grip. Shadow tried to finesse what the problem was.

The song, however, put his mind in a different place.

 _…_ _When he woke up originally the first time before his fall. He remembered his last day upon the ARK fairly well. Or so he thought._

_It was November 1970 couldn't remember a specific day— there was something terrible going on the earth's surface. Or so he had heard among the whispers of the scientists._

_A war._

_Seemingly an endless, unnecessary war._

_Shadow remembered vaguely that he was made during the last stretch of the war when it was thought humanity would be at its weakest._

_Doctor Robotnik was seemingly out of options. Patience and resources were the next things to come up sort in Robotnik's reserve._

_Maria's sickness never came close to hindering her spirit. On the physical level, however, she found herself short of breath— muscles beginning to atrophy. Her body was spending most of its energy, fighting and losing. Maria's platinum hair stopped growing at her shoulders for this reason. Shadow had overheard the disease was progressing from the inside out. It didn't make much sense to him then._

_Barry McGuire's 'Eve of Destruction' was playing on Maria's sky blue record player. There was something about the singer's raspy voice that made the hedgehog feel grounded— as if the unpolishedness of it made him more secure about his own uncomforting coarse voice._

_They had been drawing that day in the canteen. The floor of the canteen was covered in the scattered clusters of printer paper. She was drawing some sort of plain, with a stream, a farmhouse as well. Then a highway— a series of early earthly man-made landscapes. The hedgehog wondered if she was making it all up._

_Shadow was using the much more unsophisticated crayon versus Maria's delicate use of colored pencils._

_She was called away by Robotnik. He attempted to follow— only to be ordered to stay put— Robotnik apologized for snapping._

_Shadow followed them anyway as childlike curiosity couldn't be dissuaded by raising one's voice._

_The pair of them were alone in the lab; Gerald appeared to be exhausted. He was mentioning something about a protest. The war, the protest, casualty— parents, I'm sorry— deceased— permanent residence. ARK._

_It wasn't just bits and pieces, but bits of pieces. Maria cried out, hugging her grandfather for the first time Shadow could ever remember. Robotnik's hands hovered over her back hesitantly, but eventually, Shadow could see too that the professor was crying. Robotnik held onto his granddaughter as if she would dissipate into the stars that hung in the black outside the windows_.

"Hey, Shadow— earth to Shadow!"

Shadow jolted in place, taking shallow breaths. Tails was taxiing to land by the coffee maker. He didn't seem to know that he was in the kitchen while he was lost in thought.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to know if you had planned on taking a shower. The water heater only has so much hot water, and I was wondering—"

Shadow felt that he was still holding the record in his hands— setting it down louder than he intended, he asserted," I'm probably going to leave soon; you can go ahead."

The kit made a note of shadow's eyes; they seemed to go everywhere when searching for an answer that shouldn't have been that hard to find. Tails picked up his coffee mug," Oh…" he scratched his ear," Okay."

Changing the subject, Tails pointed at the record," What's that?"

"Oh… uh, it's some of the music I brought over for Sonic. He said he wanted to know more about me, so I-I got this." He said, holding up the record once again," it's broken, though. I broke it. I fell asleep letting it play, and I guess it's scratched now."

Tails grabbed the record with wonderment, "This sure is a big CD!"

Shadow felt the spindly white beard of age growing in his mind. He placed his elbow on the table," I can play some for you sometime— not sure you'd like them very well."

"I mostly like classical music… you know like uh, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Mendelssohn."

"That is somehow the most unsurprisingly Tails thing you've ever said," Shadow smiled with unexpected warmth. The kid listened to music older than Doctor Robotnik.

"Thank you?" Tails said, sipping at his coffee before walking into the den to watch his morning cartoons.

Shadow glanced at the record again. It suddenly didn't seem so heavy anymore.

Sonic emerged from the depths of the house, arms outstretched, pointing straight up to the ceiling. He yawned in a way that made his jaw pop like a snake.

"Goooooooooood morning!"

"Morning," Shadow replied, smiling," Good to see you awake, and with the rest of the living."

Before making his way to the fridge, Sonic leaned over, kissing his partner on the cheek, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Blush flooding his face, Shadow had to concede that Sonic was the victor of this round of being the better boyfriend.

"How's the egg?"

"Still in its shell," Sonic mumbled in an overly dramatic and dejected fashion.

Shadow quipped," Watched pot."

"I don't think the egg has stage fright." Sonic stuck his tongue out," I'm still sitting on names for it. What do you think, Shelly or Shelly?"

Anxiously Shadow stood up, attempting to save face," It sounds like a Shelly to me," he said, quickly scavenging his phone. Shadow used his fist to prop up his face as he scrolled through his phone aimlessly- distracting himself.

"...Hey, I know this isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but uh… You're not bored, right?" he chuckled awkwardly.

Shadow tried to muster up a smile but the subject mashed with the furrowed brow. It wasn't boredom he was feeling. He could see how happy Sonic was. He was perhaps perturbed how he wasn't the cause of it. It was selfish, but it was sincere. And he hated himself for it. The hedgehog didn't feel jealousy… he didn't think it was possible as it was beneath him- so far beneath him, he didn't think it would ever surface.

"Oh no, I'm… fine… I'm okay," Shadow fumbled, attention severed in a multitude of directions- phone, boyfriend, thoughts-

Sonic felt his fists tighten and his throat go dry. He hated those words, 'I'm fine.' More often than not, those words were wielded like a shield but felt like a weapon being plunged hilt deep into his chest.

"I was just checking my inbox to see if Rouge had sent me any updates," A more rehearsed excuse wormed its way out of Shadow's head and through his mouth.

Simply Sonic just replied with an," Oh," he paused, trying to think of something that wasn't confrontational and stupid- like he was,"...Uh, you had a good time last night?"

Without much hesitation, Shadow finally put his phone down," Yes, of course- I really had a great time… I'm sorry again for just showing up without really- thinking…"

"I love surprises, especially when they're you," Sonic said, seeking to apply a bandaid to the tension he didn't think he was imagining," I know we talked about you coming over and you making a good impression on these two dingalings-"

Interjecting, Shadow blinked rapidly," Did I make them uncomfortable?"

"Oh- oh no, they really like you a lot- they were worried about making you uncomfortable."

"... That's good," Shadow sighed in relief, then admitting," I find it hard to read situations, so it means a lot that you said that."

"Of course, babe."

Just as Sonic thought they had punctuated the awkward, Knuckles walked in from outside. Stretching his shoulders, popping his spine audibly for the whole kitchen to cringe at. The echidna yawned- scratching at the half-moon mark on his torso.

With his grand entrance, both hedgehogs looked up at Knuckles with tense expressions. The echidna wondered aloud," Is my bed head that bad?"

Shadow pointed at the door leading to the backyard," So you actually sleep outside?"

"Echidna warriors typically slept in traditionally ornately decorated tents but- you know… last of the tribe so made do with meadow's and the night sky."

Sonic rolled his eyes," I mean, it's all fine by me. We rent a three-bedroom house just so this idiot to sleep outside like he's our labrador or something."

"Hey, we have a guest room, so I don't see why you're complaining," Knuckles always fell back on that argument, and it was a good argument," And it's not like I sleep on just some pile of mud- I got myself a nice porch swing with some fairy lights, it's all very Pinterest."

The echidna shook his head," Anyway, not what I came here to talk about-"

"Oh crap, it's my turn to make breakfast again." Sonic smacked his forehead, just now remembering the blasted chore wheel.

Knuckles blinked," Oh? Does that mean flapjacks?" He also then hit himself to steady his aim on the elephant in the room," Focus; I wanted to ask about the egg. Do we have an ETA on hatching or what? I was going to help Shadow do a search for the owners."

Trying to mute his surprise, Sonic decided to bluff," I can't tell, but Tails said it could be days or hours."

"I suppose we should get cracking then, eh Shads?" The echidna tried his hand at the nickname, trying to make the hedgehog less intimidating.

Shadow nodding in agreement, being a bit blunter with his feelings on the matter," Sooner, the better."

"But what about breakfast?" Tails said, causing the three elders to nearly jump in surprise.

"Well, shoot fellas, I'm out of pancake mix," Sonic shrugged and then swung his arm in a 'thems-the-breaks' fashion. The hedgehog capitalized on the situation, hoping to stall them," And we can't leave the egg alone-"

"Tails and I can go to the store while Knuckles can begin the search," Shadow glanced at Sonic, who had trouble looking at him back.

Tails leaped excitedly in the air, "Does this mean we can take your motorcycle!?"

"Yes, but you're wearing a helmet, young man," Shadow stifled a stern growl, quickly following Tails to the front door.

"God, I am dating my uncle Chuck," Sonic groaned jokingly as they split up with their tasks for the morning. Knuckles stared at Sonic with a pursed lip.

"What?"

Knuckles crossed his arms with a steeliness," We're not out of pancake mix, Sonic."

"Oh?" Sonic tried his best to feign ignorance while Knuckles stared straight through him," My mistake."

"You know I don't appreciate it when people lie," The echidna mumbled disappointedly. He passed a few silent moments boring holes into Sonic, practically like he was swiss cheese. Though Sonic would not just fess up, the hedgehog held firm under scrutiny.

"Are you okay, Sonic?" He inquired, subtracting as much hostility from his voice as possible. It was unlike the hedgehog to lie straight to his face before. Knuckles had never truly been that smart. Most people wrote him off as being gullible, which was, unfortunately, the truth- but at his age, he began to question even the slightest movement even if it were to come from one of his best friends.

"Me? Yeah, Knuckles dude, I'm perfectly fine," Sonic attempted to cover his hide again," I'm just trying to get those two to bond, yknow?"


	5. If It Keeps You Alive

Not planning on staying that long, he would've normally packed the second helmet he kept in his apartment. Shadow, without warning, plopped the dense cap over Tails' head.

The soft inside had no grip on Tails' fur and ended up slipping over his eyes.

"How do I look?" Tails asked facetiously.

Shadow knocked on the top of the helmet," safe."

Throwing his leg over the other side of the bike, he directed," Now I want you to hold onto me, okay, Tails? I don't want you to go flying off the back."

"I'm not a little kid!" Tails crossed his arms, the helmet falling over his eyes again.

MIT intellect, but the kit still couldn't figure out his way around a helmet strap. Shadow rolled his eyes," Of course not."

He said while tightening the strap under Tails' chin— making sure the kit could see properly.

Tails begrudgingly got on the back of the bike, holding onto Shadow's waist. Then Tails remembered, "How are you gonna protect your head Shadow?"

"Easy," He smirked, twisting the Dark Rider's throttle, causing the engine to rev below the duo," I just won't crash,"

Tails felt his nose crinkle," This thing sure is loud!"

"Isn't your plane loud?"

"It's different!" Tails admitted, embarrassed by his comment.

In an instant, Shadow took off down the road, causing Tails to cling to his torso tighter. Overall, the ride was smooth; the road had been repaved due to a battle hosted in the neighborhood not very long ago. Leaves seemed to cascade around them. It was awash in a gradient of the warm browns and oranges that made up the decaying trees.

Shadow loved the fall on earth much more than he could have ever imagined. The cold artificial air of the ARK seemed to be in the rearview.

He choked the throttle once more— receiving an equal burst in speed. Tails could never damage his pride so much as to admit to being scared though his body betrayed him by sweating bullets and his tails nervously fluttering away.

Picking a parking spot close toward the front, Shadow eventually coasted to a stop before throwing down his kickstand.

"So, how did you like it?" Shadow posed to Tails, still feeling the little guy hanging on for dear life.

Tails pried his arms off of Shadow," No offense to your driving, but I'll stick to flying."

A chuckle escaped him as the pair entered the store, the automatic doors sliding away. Tails yanked a sanitary wipe from the dispenser and hovered his hand over the selection of baskets.

"This isn't the lotto numbers, kid."

Sticking out his tongue, Tails gestured for Shadow to move along," I have a system!"

It was as if Shadow walked in on the kit playing a pretend game— he seemed really embarrassed over anything. Shadow would say it's neurotic if Tails weren't ten.

After making his selection of plastic basket, he began to lead the way into the store. Deja Vu was fickle, especially for Shadow, but he still felt amused but the concept even in the little things. Such a grocery store chain having almost an eerily similar floor plan from store to store, but with the condition that only certain aisles were in an alien place.

The little things, Shadow couldn't help but find funny.

The crowd for the store was decent, especially for a Friday morning. Mostly housewives, Mobian and Human alike, attempting to prepare for the next week of school, a whole week's worth of meals. Perhaps the earlier they could get there, the more likely the crowd would've cleared. Great minds and all that.

Glancing over his shoulder Tails, asked aloud," do you need anything?"

Shadow found himself staring at a Human woman stopped in the middle of everyone's way. Directly in front of the checkout area, she had been called from her shopping to soothe her crying child. The open hysterical sobs fought the store's radio. Echoing sharply off of the linoleum floor. Every patron seemed to go quiet around the scene. She was bouncing the toddler in her arms— the child, on the other hand, unresponsive, completely besides themself. The child attempted to detach to their best ability leaning their large head backward— wriggling out of the mother's grip.

However, the woman appeared to be used to this routine as she had a steadfast grip on the child's upper back. The mother didn't even seem to care about the outburst. She was intently focused on calmly cooing and softly chanting to subdue the child.

How do they do it? Shadow wondered. He had no natural instincts when it came to kids. When he heard that baby crying, all he could think was, 'Oh god, someone brought a baby.'

"Ooo, discount on dish soap! Score!"

Tails' little voice reminded Shadow that he only had to look after one kid for the day. The fox didn't even seem phased by the baby, despite his big satellite dish ears. Didn't even so much as twitch. Tails reached up, "I forgot this store wasn't particularly mobian friendly."

Shadow being the taller, attempted to grab the bottle while straining, "It could just be- you are a child, and store shelves typically don't cater to that demographic."

"Shadow, how tall are you?"

"... don't worry about it." Shadow hopped one time for good measure before resigning, "I'm sure we can find someone to reach it for you."

He didn't want to embarrass himself any further; Shadow raised his hand trying to locate an apron-clad checker, "Uh-"

Tails shrugged, "it's not that important. We can just round back."

Suddenly, a large bottle of soap dropped into Shadow's hands.

"No need to fear, team Chaotix is here."

"Vector!"

"Charmy!"

"Espio!"

"... and-" Silver let go of the bottle from his psychokinesis, "Silver…?"

Vector clapped Silver on the shoulder, "See? Your timing is getting better!"

Shadow rolled his eyes. He had solved the mystery of the missing clowns.

"Charmy?!" Tails greeted

"Tails!" Charmy nearly tackled his friend to the ground.

Shadow crossed his arms. He reminded, "Please remember you are in a public place."

Tails chuckled," Sorry, Shadow." That only lasted a few minutes before Charmy and Tails began chatting loudly and pulling silly faces at each other.

Silver stared at Shadow quizzically, "I didn't know you were into the babysitting game."

"Oh- er- I'm not, we're uh running errands," Shadow scratched his cheek, "I didn't know you were in the private detective game?"

"Me? Nah, no way, these guys were nice enough to let me stay with them for a bit after the…" Silver trailed off, "Y'know? The war."

Shadow gave a nod to his junior, "It seems like the world can hardly save itself without the trio around."

"Ah, I wouldn't say that," Silver humbled himself, "It seems like you and Sonic have it pretty well secured around here."

Shadow found himself bristling. He wasn't sure if Sonic had told anyone else about them. He was perfectly capable of being discrete. Sonic, on the other hand, seemed to be flexible. Sometimes Sonic is fine with people knowing, sometimes not. Shadow was very decisive. Rolling with the punches, socially, wasn't his strong suit.

The psychic pressed his hands together, "It's… it's kind of sad that the only time I get to see you all is when things are crazy."

"Are you sure you couldn't just stay here? After all, Blaze is here too," Shadow pointed out.

Silver said all he needed to in a look. Silver twitched. His face fell. As if with a simple eye movement, Silver unleashed months of sleepless nights, waves of tears, deliberation, bargaining, begging, pleading. He gave an awkward smile before looking down at the floor, helplessly as if it would absorb him.

"She's not the same…" Silver elaborated through a half-hearted glove adjustment, "Different dimensions. She doesn't even remember me."

Before Shadow could stumble through an apology the same way he stumbled into Silver's emotional wounds, Vector pointed a finger at Shadow, "Say did you pass on my resume to GUN? After all, flatfoot, you owe my boys here."

"Vector…" Shadow warned.

Espio scrolled through a phone," It looks like he has passed on both of our resumes."

The hedgehog snatched back his device, which Espio pickpocketed, "Yes, I did, not because I think you have any actual talent for my line of work, but because I'm nice."

This got a laugh from the collective of Team Chaotix. Vector snorted, "Nice? Really? Is that what you think?"

Espio quietly chittered, "You aren't nice. Knuckles is nice. You are tolerable on a good day."

"Shadow is super nice!" Tails attested, "He's helping Sonic take care of a Chao egg."

The grownups all hushed. Shadow felt his expression tighten.

Silver queried again," So you're sure you're not a babysitter?"

"I'm- it's… it's complicated," Shadow finally admitted.

Silver, Vector, and Espio all grimaced. There was complicated how the rest of the world knew it; then there was Shadow complicated.

"Actually," Shadow held his chin, "This could be beneficial. See, Sonic and I found this Chao egg while we were… uh- ha… we were on a walk."

"A walk?" Espio pointedly asked.

Deflecting, Shadow continued his story, "We were on a walk, and we found an orphaned Chao egg."

"Why were you and Sonic on a walk?" Vector put his hands on his hips.

Tails interjected, annoyed that Shadow had been ignoring the question, "Sonic and Shadow are boyfriends now."

Shadow's lips pursed. He felt as though his eye went bloodshot. He couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't blinking.

Silver patted Shadow on the back," Good for you, man. That's so good! I'm so happy for you-

"Wow…" Espio glued his eyes to a phone that suddenly appeared in his hand, "I guess that explains why 'My Star' has the same phone number as Sonic."

Shadow yanked back his phone, "Stop doing that!"

Charmy fluttered towards him, excitedly chirping, "Can I be the ring bearer at the wedding?"

All the voices echoing and reflecting off of each other. Way too many questions, congratulations, the fluorescent lights and noise- and that baby was still crying! It hadn't stopped since they walked in, and Shadow was pretty sure he was the reason why.

He balled his fists next to his head.

"Boys!" Shadow roared.

The grocery store seemed to silence itself finally. Bystanders looking at him. Staring at him. Was he sweating?

Shadow collected himself, "Is Team Chaotix up for a real case?"


End file.
